Automatic poultry feeder and exerciser.



a F. Looms; AUTOMATIC POULTRY FEEDE-R ANDv E'XERCISERQ APPLICATION FILED APR.24, 1915.

M 9 1 1 U B M H s h H m 5 u 2 m a D1 F. LOOMJS. AUTOMATIC POULTRY FEEDER AND EXERCISER.

APPLICATION FILED APR.24| I915- Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2 awmmhzi v M MAW: H WW more fully set FRANK LOQMIS, or MAoH'IAs, nnvr ronx.

AUTOMATIC POULTRY FEEDER AND EXERCISEB.

icense.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18, 1915.

Application filed Anril 2-4, 1915. Serial No. 23,689.

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, FRANK LooMrs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Ma- "chias, in the county of Cattaraugus and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements-in Automatic Poultry Feeders and Exercisers, of which the followingis a specification, reference being This invention relates to an automatic certain devices and mechanism for controlling the distribution of scratch feed or grain, the machine being such as to scatter the grain on the ground surrounding said machine, and over a constantly varying radius; and furthermore has for its purpose to associate such'enerciser with means for effecting the intermittent feeding of ground grain or other food stuff to one or more troughs suitably located upon the machine.

A further object. of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character,

wherein the feed controlling means is required to be continuously oscillated or moved back and forth by the fowls in order to secure an intermittent feeding of both the Y scratch grain,

ground grain or other food stufi'; that is to say, mechanism in contradistinctionto that class of poultry feeders which may be so operated and held by the fowls as to permit a continuous flow of grain from the hopper or other receptacle.

A still further object of the inventionis the provision of an apparatus capable of being pivotally mounted or secured to a stationary post or standard, wherein all of the main parts of the apparatus, lncluding the hoppers, feed controlling mechanism, and. troughs, are adapted to be-moved or oscillated to bring about the intermittent feeding of the grain when said apparatus is operated by the fowls as will be hereinafter forth. I also-be stated that this invention er for its object the provision of a Itm y fe'eder which is simple and inexin construction, eilicient in every reof easy operation and spect',. .also capable adaptedfto eiiectually control the feed of grain and other food stuffs in desired amounts.

With these and other ob ects in v ew, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination of parts hereinafter more fully set forth and claimed, it being understood that various changes in the form, 05 portion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of said claims, may

beresorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

in the drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevat on of an automaticfpoultry feeder and exerciser, constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectismal view of the same. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, and illustrating the feed controlling mechanism for the scratch grain. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail view, partly in section, and illustratingthe adjustable valve or sleeve of the feed controlling mechanism for the ground grain. Fig. 4: is a horizontal sectional view of the machine taken on the line ll of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a'horizontal sectional view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 6 6 of Fig. 2. Fig. 7 is a horizontal sectional view on the line 7-7 oi Fig. 2. Fig. 8 is a horizontal sec tionalview on the line 8-8 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 9 is a bottom plan view of the poultry platform, showing the strengthening strips for said platform;

Referring to the accompanying drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a feed hopper of cylindrical form, designed. to be constructed of sheet..metal or other suitable ma-' terial, and provided at the top with a cover 2, and having a tapered lower portions, open at its lower end as indicated at 4. Depending from the tapered bottom'portion 3 of the hopper 1, is a cylindrical neck 5, which is provided near its upper end with a plurality of grain discharge openings 6,

said neck having communication with the hopper through the opening. cylindrical neck is supported a disk 7' hav-" ing projecting from itsperiphery a series of equally spaced lugs or projections 8, each one of said lugs projecting through one of the grain discharge openings in the cylin- 4. Within this Hand grips 13 are provided upon the sleeve for" facilitating the operation thereof.

It is to be noted that the lugs 8 project through the discharge openings (3 a sufficient distance so as to be engaged by the upper edge of the adjustable sleeve 11, in which case the disk 7 feed controlling disk 9, and Washer 10, will be lifted as the sleeve is raised, and of course lowered as the sleeve is moved in a downward direction as will be obvious.

Itis to be noted that the hopper and its depending neck, together with the disk 7' which is arranged in fixed relation to said neck so far as sidewise movement is concerned, are all capable of receiving a side wise or oscillating movement in all directions with respect tothe feed controlling disk 9, so that the disks 7 and 9 have a sliding engagement one with the other for effecting and controlling the discharge of grain from the hopper 1. It may also be 'stated'that this feed, controlling-disk 9 is provided with a centrally located opening 14 through which passes a. bolt or pin 15,

'removably carried by the upper end of a stationary post or standard 16 which supports the entire apparatus. This pin is inserted within a .bore 17 in the standard as shown, and is screw threaded at its upper end to receive a nut 18 which is adapted to rest upon the upper surface. of the washer 10. The opening 14 in the feed controlling disk 9 is made slightly larger than the diameter of the pin, and this for the purpose of allowing a limited oscillation of said disk with respect to the pin, brought about by the frictional engagement of said disk with the disk 7 at each operation of the machine.

Itgis also to be noted that the bolt or pin passes through a centrally located opening 19 arranged in the disk 7, this opening being made relatively large to permit of the oscillation or back and forth movement of the upper part of the machine including the hopper 1 and its depending necki5, with respect to the bolt or pin just referred to, which is stationary during the operation of the machine, beingfixed to the standard 1 as hereinbefore mentioned. The washer 10 "snugly surrounds the bolt or pin, and is of suflicient size to cover up the central opening through the feed controlling disk 9, so that,

and washer 10, may be with respectto one" another, the openings through the disks will be closed to the pass-age of grain.

Depending from the lower end of the neck 5, and preferably formed as an integral extension thereof, is an outwardly tapering hood 20, from which depends a cylindrical casing constituting a hopper 21 for the ground feed or finely divided grain. This cylindrical casing preferably fits within the lower end of the hood 20 and is connected thereto near the lower end thereof by means of bolts or other fastenings means as indicated at 22. The extreme lower end of the hood 20 is flared as shown at 23, and this for the purpose of scattering the grain falling from the hopper 1 over a comparatively large area and causing thefowls to exercise in order to obtain the same.

A cylindrical funnel-shaped distributing member is indicated at 24, and is so associated and arranged with respect to the hopper 21, as to serve as a means for con veying the'material discharged from said hopper, to a number of troughs 25 located directly below the same. The funnel distributing member 241- extends above the lower end of the cylindrical hopper 21, and is of a diameter greater than that of the hopper, so as to form an annular space between said lower end of the hopper and the inner surface of the funnel distributing member for permitting a free passage of the material from the hopper to the troughs 25 when the machine is oscillated. The lower end of the funnel'distributing member, however, is smaller'in diameter thanthe hopper 21, and said lower end is arranged directly above the feed troughs 25, being centrally located with respect thereto. As a. mean for supporting the distributing'member in fixed relation with respect to the lower end of the hopper 21, bracing bars or strips 26 are provided, the upper ends of which are securely fastened by bolts or other means to the sides of the hopper 21 at points indicated at 27, said strips intermediate their length being bent as indicated at 28, to conform to the shape. of the upper end of the funnel distributing member to which they are securely fastened by bolts 29. The strips or bars are then extended downwardly and to a slight degree outwardly, and the lower/end of each baris secured to the feed troughs 25 and also to a circular platform 30, thus lot firmly holding all of the parts to which said strips are secured, namely,.the hopper 21,-

.funnel-shaped member 24, feed troughs 25, and platform. 30, in fixed relation one with the other, substantially as shown in the drawings.

The feed troughs are constructed by pro-- viding acylindrical section 31 forming the outer wall of the feed troughs, a bottom 32, and a tapered cylindrical member 33, which is carried by the bottom 32 and constitutes the inner wall for the feed troughs. In this connection it is to be noted that the bottom 32 has a-centrally located opening therein to which the lower end. of the tapered cylindrical member 33 is brazed or otherwise secured, and that the tapered member 33 extends upwardly from said bottom for a sufficient distance above the lower end of the funnel distributing member 24, so as to assure the delivery of the material from the hopper 21 to the feed troughs as above de scribed. The separate feed troughs are formed by providing partitions 34 which eX- tend between the inner and outeravalls of the feed troughs 25, three of said partitions being shown in the present instance, said partitions extending upwardly from the bottom of the troughs and being of such shape at their upper edges as to conform to the side of the funnel distributing member. The outer. edges of these partitions are bent at right angles to the main portion thereof to form flanges 35, which flanges are secured to the bracing bars or strips 26 as clearly shown in Fig. i of the drawing.

Below the lower end of the cylindrical casing constituting the hopper 21 is a cylindrical plate 36, the same being of a. diameter slightly in excess of that of the hopper, said plate having angular lugs 37, extending from its periphery which are adapted to-be fastened to the interior of the funnel distrib-uting member 2 near the upper end thereof, and preferably by means of the same bolts 29, which secure the distributing member to the bracing strips. In this mannor the plate 36 is secured in fixed relation with respect to the lower edge of the hopper 21, constituting a bottom for the same, it

being understood, however, that sufficient space is left between the lower edge of the hopper and the bottom plate toallow for the dischargeof the grain, contained within the hopper, over the outer edge of the plate and into the distributing member which delivers it to thefeed troughs. An annular flange is indicated at 38 upon the under side of the plate 36 'and serves as a strengthening means for said plate.

Supported by the bottom-plate, and of a diameter slightly less than said plate is a feed controlling disk 39 of convexed form having a centrally located opening therein through which the post or standard passes. This opening is made larger than the diameter of the post, so that the convexed disk may have a slight sidewise or oscillating movement with respect to said post.

To prevent the contents of the hopper 21 from sitting through the central opening in the feed controlling disk 39-, that is to say,

between the disk and the po't or standard, a

disk or washer 40 is provided, the same be ing supported by th'e feed controlling disk and snugly fitting the post or standard, and 3 also being ofsuiticient size as to completely cover the opening. It will, therefore, be

understood that the discharge'from the hopper 21, can only be made between the lower edge of the cylindrical casing constituting I the hopper and the periphery or outer edge of the bottom plate 33, and as will be obvious, discharge of grain or other food stuff:

being brought about by the movement of the hopper and its bottom with respect tothe feed controlling disk, similar to that heretow may be stated that as thebottOm-is adjacent portion of the periphery of they hopper bottom, so that a small amount-of the grain contained within the hopper is permitted to discharge from said hopper and be conveyed by the distributer 24 into the troughs. Such operation will occur each time the apparatus is moved by the weight of the fowls alighting upon the platform,

the apparatus being capable of sidewise movement in any direction, whereby the intermittent discharge of grain at all points around the feed controlling disk may be per mitted. I I

In order to control the amount of grain discharged from thehopper 21 at each operation of the machine, an adjustable sleeve 41 is rotatably mounted upon the lower end of the hopper, a pin and inclined slot bonnection between the sleeve and hopper be ing provided, as shown at 492, so that as the sleeve is rotated, up and down movement is given thereto which allows said sleeve to be projected different distances belowthe lower edge of the hopper for varying the space form a similar flange 44, thus materially strengthening these parts and serving to re; duce the friction which would necessarily ex ist if the parts were in contact one with the other for their entire length. The sleeve is also provided withan outwardly 1 and downwardly tapering flange as at 5, serving as a guard toprevent-the fowls from getting any of the grain from the bottom of the hopper at this point. Furthermore, hand grips are arranged as clearly shown,

in Fig. 5 upon the outer surface of thei sleeve $11 for the same purpose a those ufsediin epnnection with the sleeve' 1, and "at this point it is to be noted that'both of the sleeves 11 and 41 may be made of a single piece of metal having outwardly bent portions a at its ends connected together by a enlarged opening through which the hopper 21 may be filled with the material to be fed to the fowls. This opening is normally closed by'a sliding door 16, which may be moved to open position by sliding the same in a downward direction, a handle 17 being proyided for this purpose. A pin or proectlon {8 at the upper end of the door is provided, whichis adapted to cooperate with a strip 49 when the door is in open po sition, serving as a stop for limiting the downward movement of said door.

'1 he entire machine, as has been stated, is supported upon a post or standard 16, said standard being mounted upon a block or base piece 50 having adjustable feet 51 sehopper 21. l

cured thereto, thereby permitting the standard to be firmly positioned in proper rela tion to the ground upon which it is set. Near the upper end of the post is loosely pivoted a tapered member 52, said member surrounding the post and extending downwardly from said. pivotal connection to within the hopper 21, the lower end of said tapered member being located near the bottom of said hopper. This pivotal connection is made by passing bolt through the upper end of said tapered member and also the post as indicated at Extending from the lower edge of the member 52 is a) circular supporting member 54*. having a downwardly inclined upper face 55, and this supporting member is provided for the purpose of sustaining the weight of the bulk of the material. contained within the hopper 21, and thereby assuring the proper opera tion of the feed controllmg means for the It has been noted at various places throughout this description that the entire apparatus is supported or carried by a post orRstandard 1.6, and in this connection it may be further stated that all of the parts of the machine are preferably made of cylindrical form in cross section and the post arrangedcentrally with respect theretd' Furthermore, the post at its upper end has a somewhat reduced portion 56, thereby forming a shoulder 57, for receiving the lower edge of an inwardly tapering member 58 carried by the'lower end of the neck 5. Inithis manner, it being borne in mind that the various parts of this apparatus are connected. together as herein set forth, the

any preferred manner, and serving to strengthen said platform.

A screen guard 60 is also provided, depending from the bottom of the hopperl and extending to a ptsition below the feed discharge openin s 6 in the depending neck 5, thus preventing the fowls from getting any of the grain from the hopper 1 at this point.

The apparatus being constructed and operated in a manner as herein described, it will-be readily understood that said apparatus is such as to require the fowls to operate the same, and when such apparatus is operated'certain of the grain will be scattered about the ground compelling the fowls to run about and scratch for their feed and thus get the exercise deemed necessary for them. Furthermore, and by each operation of the machine, a different kind of food, such fo' instance as finely divided grain,

may be fed in small quantities to the troughs. It will, of course, be understood. that the operation of the machine is brought about by the fowls alighting upon the circular platform, the weight of said fowls being sufiicient to tilt or oscillate the apparatus, which tilting movement causes the feed controlling mechanism to operate for dis charging the grain in small quantities. In other words, thegrain is discharged intermittently or at such times as the machineis tilted or oscillatedfrom one position to a different position. The machine cannot be held in any one position by the fowls, or in fact cannot be operated in such a manner as to allow a continuous flow of. grain from either one of the hoppers. Such being the case, the fowls are required to tilt the machine back and forth in order to have grain discharged therefrom, thereby giving the fowi's the desired amount of exercise.

I claim: v

1. An automatic poultry feeder and exerciser, comprising a hopper, feed controlling mechanism for said.hopper, and a post or standard for supporting said hopper and its associated parts-said hopper being capable of having an oscillating tiltable movement imparted thereto for operating the feed controlling mechanism.

2. An automatic poultry feeder and exerciser, comprising a hopper provided with a depending neck having. lateral discharge openings therein, said hopper open at its bottom vto permit discharge of material therefrom to said neck, feed controlling mechanism carried by said neck and constituting the bottom, for said hopper, and a standard for supporting said hopper and its associated parts, all of said parts, including the hopper and the feed controlling mechanism, being capable :of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for ejecting the material contained within the hopper through said lateralopenings in the neck.

'5 An automatic poultry feeder and exerciser comprising'aj hopper provided with a depending 'neck'fhaving lateral discharge openings.therein,"said hopper open at its I bottpm to permit the discharge of, material ,29- from said hopper to the neck, a disk carried "by said neck and having lugs'projecting through t e lateral openings in said neck,"a

feed controlling plate supported by said disk centrally located 'with respect thereto, 5 said dislr'gand feed controlling plate constitpting 'the, bottom for said hopper,.and a s andard for supporting said hopper and its associated parts, all of said parts including the hopper and the feed-controlling mecha- 3 nism being capable of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for ejecting the material contained within" the hopper, fthrough said lateral openings in the neck.

4. An automatic poultry feederand exer 5 ciser, comprising a hopper provided with a depending neck having lateral discharging openings therein, bottom to permit the discharge of material from said hopper to the neck, feed control- 40 ling mechanism carried by said neck and constituting the bottomfor said-hopper, a standard for supporting said hopper and its associated parts, and a guard independent of the neck and its rounding said neck and projecting at all times below the lateral openings in the neck, said guard being spaced from the neck to permit the discharge of material through.

the lateral openings.

' 5. An automatic poultry feeder and exerciser, comprising a standard, a hopper pivotally mounted upon said standard and open at its bottom to permit the discharge of material therefrom, a funnel distributing member arranged in fixed relation with respect to the lower end of said hopper, a plate fixed to the distributing member and constituting the bottom for the hopper, said plate being spaced from the lower edge of said so hopper for a sufiicient distance to permit the discharge of material from the hopper at the" periphery of said bottom plate and into the distributing member, and a trough arranged the funnel distributing member and adapted 'ciser, comprising a standard, otally mounted upon said standard and open and into the distri from the hopper into the trough.

said hopper open at its associated parts surin fixed relation with respect to movement imparted thereto for permitting the discharge of into the trough.

6. An automatlc poultry feeder and exer a hopper pivmaterial from the hopper at its bottom to permit the discharge 'of material therefrom, a funnel distributing member arranged in fixed relation with respect'to the lower end of said hopper, a plate fixed to the distributing member and constituting the bottom for the hopper, said plate being spaced from the lower edge of said hopper for a sulficient distance to permit the discharge of material from the hopper at the peripher of said bottom plate uting member, a feed controlling disk having sliding engagement 1 with'the upper surface of said bottom plate,

and a trough arranged in fixed relation with respect to the funneldistributingmember and adapted to receive the material discharged therefrom, all .of said parts excepting the standard being capable of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for permitting the discharge of material 7 An automatic poultry feeder and exer ciser, comprising a standard, a hopper mounted upon said standard and open at its a bottom to permit the discharge of material therefrom, a plate arranged in fixed relation with respect to the lower edge of said hopper and being spaced therefrom for a suflicient distance to permit the discharge of I material from the hopper at the periphery of said bottom plate, and a trough arranged below the hopper and adapted to receive the material discharged therefrom, all of said parts excepting the standard being capable of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for permitting the discharge of material from the hopper into the trough.

8. An automatic poultry feeder and exerciser, comprising a standard, a hopper mounted upon said standard and open' at its bottomto permit the discharge of material therefrom, a plate arranged in fixed relation 1 with respect to the lower edge of said hopper and constituting the bottom for the same, said plate being spaced from said lower edge for a suflicient distance to permit the discharge of material from the hopper at the periphery of said bottom plate, a trough arranged in fixedrelation with respect to the lower end ofthe hopper,'and a platform surrounding the trough, all of said parts excepting the standard being capable; of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for permitting the discharge of material from the hopper into the trough. 9. An automatic poultry feeder and exer- 130 ,ciser, comprising a standard, a hopper mounted upon said standard and open at its bottomto permit the discharge of material therefrom, a plate arranged in fixed relation With respect to the lower edge of the hopper and constituting the bottom for the same, said plate being spaced from the lower edge of said hopper for a suflicient distance to permit the discharge of material from the hopper at the periphery of said bottom plate,

a trough arranged in fixed relation with respect to the bottom of the hopper, and a member carried by'the standard and suspended Within the hopper above the bottom thereof for supporting the bulk of the ma- 5 terial contained Within said hopper, all of said parts excepting the standard being capable of having an oscillating movement imparted thereto for permitting the dis 1 I charge of material from the hopper into the, 20 trough. g In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

, FRANK LooMIs. Witnesses CREIGHTON H. MURPHY,

ADDISON M. BAKER. 

